How to Fix Remote Control Buttons
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- čas přidán 30. 12. 2016
- Fixing poorly working remote control buttons.
After a while you have to press the buttons harder and harder to get the remote control to work. It's due to the conductive under surface wearing out in the frequently used buttons. This can be fixed! Watch the video. Although I start off thinking it can be fixed by a graphite pencil, I then switched to using silver ink to get lower resistance. The graphite pencil might have worked, I never tried it, but I wasn't that happy that the resistance was low enough, so used the silver ink.
The conductive silver ink is for sale here:
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I have seen many remote control repair video's and this is the first that actually addressed the buttons more than just cleaning !!! Thank you VERY MUCH !!! I now have a better idea of what to do !
Cheers, good luck.
we were just about to go out and buy another remote, but thank you so much for saving us from the unnecessary purchase!!
Good to know!
Thank you for this fix that ACTUALLY addresses the source of the problem!
Using your idea, though, I took a bit different approach. Since I am an HO scale model railroader, I have a tube of Kadee #231 Greas-em Dry Graphite Lubricant, which is used to lubricate Kadee couplers. I put some of the powder on the end of a cotton swab and by twisting it, burnished the graphite into the button contacts. It worked great! NOTE: graphite dry lubricant is also widely available in hardware stores.
No telling how long it will last, but I think it might work a bit better than a graphite pencil, since pencil "lead" also includes clay, which is a non-conductor.
Cheers, thanks for the alternative fix info.
Thanks, I used the aluminium foil solution for the volume buttons on my remote control and it worked !
Great
Graphite worked prefect. That's a great suggestion. Thank you.
Good to hear, thanks
Thanks for the video. You should have a million hits. Fixed it. From Cyprus
Thanks! Welcome.
Thank you man. You saved my 10 year old remote!
Thanks. P.S. now on facebook as well facebook.com/comeinhandynow
Saved me $70 for a new one,,, Thankyou for posting this information.
Cheers
Wow! I can't believe that worked. Thanks SO much for posting this. Crazy tip that worked! A++++
Good to hear, thanks.
Good video Thank You. I shaved the graphite pencil point with a sharp knife onto a piece a paper. Using a Q-tip I applied the graphite to the underside of the button as well as that portion of the circuit board. It's working like new again.
Well done
Foil and double sided tape worked a treat, I didn’t clean anything! Thank youuu!!!
Thanks. P.S. now on facebook as well facebook.com/comeinhandynow
Water and soap is better.
Thank you! I used the info here to fix my remote which had been bugging me for so long. I used the tape+foil method. :D
Well done.
Very helpful. Thank you.
Cheers
Thank you, thank you, thank you! We are in the middle of SIP because of Covid and the soonest I can get a new remote is one-two weeks. Our current remote wouldn’t work, the broken button fell out and we cannot find it. I have stuck all sorts of stuff inside trying to press it and the only thing that works is a pencil. I will definitely look for your videos when I need to fix something else.
Great to hear!
Thank you so much I have fixed 4 buttons of my TV remote using this method. Thanks again
Good to hear.
Thank you sir for the video. I got my remote fixed with the help of your video
Great.
Thank you for sharing, now I can fix my remote control. Happy new Year to you.
Cheers. Happy new year.
Nice I have the same remote for a bigger tv. Or damn near the same. Anyways the power button you'd have to press down on hard. Viewed it in a camera and the IR emitter wasn't lighting up so took it apart. Put some pencil graphite on the rubber bit of the contact and it works fine now. Probably temporary, might try to get some of that silver paint you used or try the aluminum foil trick. Though this is working for now.
EDIT: I looked up silver paint on amazon. Quite expensive. Curious as to if copper tape would work. Going to look into it.
Good to read of another one fixed.
Good to know, well done.
That's a cheeky trick! Worked a treat. Thank.
Cheers.
Thank you very much! I now have a remote control with the dodgy buttons fully functioning. 🙆🏻♂️👍🏻🥳
Great!
Just stick a little piece of aluminium tape under the button surface (after cleaning surface) and this 100% works!
9B worked for me! :)
A piece of silver foil worked fine. Only thing now is that I'm annoyed that I bought a new remote control for another device, where the play button had to be pressed hard. Always check on CZcams for any repairs before spending your hard earned.
Indeed! Thanks for your input.
Graphite work wonders! Thx
Thanks for the feedback
Ketu Ketu what graphite number pencil did you use ?
What about if it's the circuit board conductor that is bad? I have one that all the buttons work except one, and it's not the bottom of the button that is the problem. I've eliminated that by working the other buttons by using the pad from the bad one to make the connections and it works fine. I also tried using another the pad from a good button on the bad connection on the circuit board and it did not work. Process of elimination, bad section on circuit board. Is there any way to fix it? I see no obvious broken traces, just looks worn on where the button is pressed.
Trace the tracks back to a point where the connections are exposed enough that you can put on some probes from a multimeter to measure the resistance between the two wires. Then see how this changes as you press on a good button. If you can’t find any broken tracks then I suspect that perhaps the conductive surface from the button has transferred into the circuit board pads, thereby shorting them out and acting like the. button is pressed all the time. If that is the case give them a good clean and scratch between the pads to open it up and increase the resistance again. Compare the resistance to a good pad.
What a star! Totally worked.
Great. Well done.
the pencil trick lasts for how long ? 4-5 button presses before it wears off?!
The procedure used in the video (see the full video where I show the silver paint) has fixed the remote and is still working 10 months later.
You did not get the point. Watch at 3:33 - It is for mother in law to use.
Great , thanks. I just used tin foil which I never thought of and it works great. For a more long term result I will try silver Ink
Cheers. That reminds me, I’ve got another one to fix... always wearing out those commonly used buttons.
I have two LG AKB732955 Freespace Magic Motion Remote Controls. The on/off button for each RC shows IR blue light in a camera view. But the other buttons on both RCs show nothing. How do the other buttons send a signal if there is no blue light?
Web searching I found the manual www.manualslib.com/manual/269896/Lg-An-Mr200.html?page=3#manual
It seems it uses RF not IR, for at least some functions. E.g. from the manual: “The Magic Motion Remote Control communicates with RF Dongle using a 2.4 GHz bandwidth radio frequency”
Thanks. I tried the AM radio trick too with no detected reaction. I am guessing that the other buttons become functional only after registration and pairing have been completed.
That may be true. Note that AM radio is around 1MHz while Bluetooth radio is 2500MHz, so quite a long way off.
What are the cooler's buttons that are used to remote control and lead TV remote control work?
That does’t make any sense.
thank u..
Is it enough for only with pencil method without the silver ink ?
I have a remote,, it is working but power & volume button are not.
It probably would, the silver ink is a better solution though.
The two power keys of my Onkyo RC-764M remote control were hardly working any more. So I found your video and did exaclty what you did. Now the keys are working again. I can see that by the LED-indicator when I press a key. BUT the remote does not send any commands any more. I can see that by 1. the receiver not responding at all and 2. when looking at the IR LED of the remote control with a phone camera, I can see no infrared signal when pressing a button. Phone cameras are IR sensitive (invisible to the human eye, try it!), but there is no IR signal sent by the remote. The IR signal was visible before I opened the remote control. So the remote control is totally useless now. But it has power and the keys are working, as the LED indicator shows up. So: Operation successfull, patient dead. I can see no visible damages on the circuit board. Any ideas how to fix this problem?
That is a tricky one and unusual. Sounds like you know what you are doing, but still it doesn't work! Try removing the batteries, press a few keys to remove any charge and reinsert after 10 seconds to see if that resets anything. Measure the battery voltage - are they all good? Look around the IR LED to see if a dry joint disconnected it. Check if anything else was disturbed.
First you said silver ink then you said silver paint which one works.THANKS FOR VIDEO.🐱🐹
Sometimes its called paint sometimes ink and also glue. The key thing is it must be conductive. See the buying links in the video description, for example from Amazon UK: amzn.to/2hEL24m
Opened my remote up and both the rubber backing on the buttons and the PCB were really sticky. Something must have been spilled on it. I just sprayed it all with electrical contact cleaner and dried it off and now it works just fine.
Good to hear.
Or just use either liquid lighter fuel or medical rubbing alcohol. Rub across with a non chemical cotton wool over the circuit board and underside of the rubber buttons.After that it all works fine
That will ruin the remote by removing the conductive layer on the buttons. The usual issue is the conductive layer wearing off the buttons, so it needs to be replaced not removed even more.
@@comeinhandynow ok will take that on board. So far it's been fine on a 20 year old remote .It just needed cleaning up every few years..
Still won't work for changing the channel. I have tried several different methods, but not having any luck. Any suggestions, please?
I HAVE a Question To Ask You To See How To Fix My Remote. When I Follow Your Instruction The Remote Works Good For One Night. Then I Have To Repeat The Procedure. What Else Can I Do, So That I Don’t Have To Take The Batteries Out And Press And Hold The Buttons Each Night?
What method did you use to fix it? The best would be conductive ink.
Little confusing, if Graphite is not Conductive why apply it? Cheers from Toronto....
Graphite is conductive enough that it may enable the buttons to work. Not as good as silver conductive paint though.
That carbon had to go somewhere. What I've usually found is there's still sufficient carbon on the silicone button for it to function. Where did that carbon go? It's on the PCB. Look at the PCB button traces and you'll find the most frequently used are typically gummed up a bit with some of the button carbon. A swab with denatured alcohol will quickly clean them. While I've got a remote apart, I clean entire keypad side of the PCB with the alcohol, dabbing (not rubbing!!) it dry from the excess and letting the rest of it air dry which doesn't take long. I've fixed a half-dozen of my remote controls by cleaning the PCB and I've never had to worry about putting more graphite on the keypad buttons.
Thanks for your input, it is true that it is worth cleaning the pcb due to what you say as too much conduction can be as bad as too little. Well worth cleaning the pcb at the same time, but lost button conduction is often a problem that needs fixing as well. I prefer silver ink nowadays.
Thanks. I cleaned and then used the pencil but it didn't work. Whacked some tinfoil in there and away she went. Cheers
Glad it helped
there is a better way on how-to prevent the sweat of silicone oil on each button which causes the button to not functioning.
Have you notice this sweat of silicone oil did not happen to telephone buttons covered with hard plastic button? Never.
Why I don't know. But maybe the heat from our finger could block by the plastic.
How to apply this to tv remote control and other remote control?
Just cover the remote control with plastic cover. Don't let the remote control used without the plastic cover. 100% I can guarantee that no sweat of silicone oil will happen.
I tried this to my tv remote control for 14 years. After my tv broke down, I open my remote control and found no presence of silicone oil.
Also we can see the light of infrared of remote control every time we presses the button is thru cellphone camera
Thanks for you comments but I doubt most people will want to cover their remotes in plastic bags and anyhow I think it is the conductive surface that is wearing off the buttons.
klasse Trick mit dem Bleistift funktioniert 1a
Vielen Dank
Bro my problem is that I press a button it response me as I tapped it two times
Means I press it once it goes on the function for twice
What to do bro
Take it apart, clean the contact surfaces, check for a any broken rubber bits. It may be better.
The graphite will rub off onto the conductive surface and continue pressing your button
In reality it doesn’t as it sticks to the rubber button more than the cooper tracks.
I nearly ordered a £ 50 new one.
Just in time then.
Saan mkkabili ng remote dyan sa pasig ng cignal tv.
maghanap sa internet. subukan din ang eBay o Amazon
Saan mkkabili ng remote cignal tv.ty.
maghanap sa internet. subukan din ang eBay o Amazon
my remote control presses the ok button automatically help
Take it apart and have a look at that button, maybe the rubber of the button has squashed to be too close to the board.
What can u do if a button falls of
Move a button from an unused position to the missing one?
@@comeinhandynow it doesn't work like that tho
@@CZcamsr-ip2zw Why? Cut out the rubber button from another position. Or is yours not rubber?
@@comeinhandynow what do u mean another position
If your remote is like the one in the video then the buttons are all on a rubber sheet, so maybe you could move a button from an unused position to the position where you are missing one.
.....No luck.. didn't use it for 10 years...Panasonic Remote N2QAGB000002, I just sprayed some Rubbing Alcohol and later sprayed and washed the Circuit board with Rubbing alcohol and Contact Cleaner. ONLY the Power button on the Remote is working. What could be wrong?
You may have rubbed off the conductive layers on the rubber buttons, test the circuit board by using some ali foil as a button and put it across the circuit board contacts for each button to see if the circuit works.
oops, spoke too soon. Volume was working just a short while ago, and now nothing. Please advise. Thank you.
What method did you use to make the better connection? Alumimium, pencil graphite or silver ink. Silver ink is best but you need to let it dry overnight. You could also try conductive adhesive copper foil. Test the resistance of whatever connection method you use with a multimeter (on ohms). It needs to be low resistance when measured.
@@comeinhandynow Good Morning! I appeciate that you contacted me so quicky. However, I believe you're waaay too far ahead of me. I'm going to look for advice on the beginners' hill. Maybe I'll return to this wonderful page when I've had my remotes for more that 1.5 weeks; I don't think this is the proper site for now since they are so new. Thank you for your time and your response.. HAGD!
My screwdrivers are too big for the remote
Time to buy some more tools...
the graphite on the buttons did not work actually made it worse
Silver ink that is specified as being conductive is best, see links in video description, although a soft grade pencil will also often work, it is not as good. Also tin foil stuck on with doubled sided tape is ok.
@@comeinhandynow 90% buttons did work before pencil worse with pencil did try tin foil again did not work - not worried
Get it apart and clean with alcohol is all that's required, pencil will work for a day maybe. if contaminated with soft drink sponge first with warm water and weak detergent, then use alcohol.
Rubbing with alcohol will only make it worse because it will rub off more of the conductive layer. I’ve been there tried that and it didn’t work. What you need to do is replace the conductive layer, and in this video I show how to do it using silver ink. Watch the rest of the video and read the comments in the video description.
Also the fix I show here is still working over 2 years later.
Dear anyone who watched this video,
Don't take this guy's advice. There is no need to draw on your remote to make it work. This is only a temporary fix. Remove the circuit board, and soak the plastic and rubber parts in warm water with a little dish soap. While that soaks, use some PLASTIC safe contact cleaner and clean the circuit board. Rinse the parts that were soaking and dry them. Finish cleaning those with 50% isopropyl alcohol. After everything is dry, put it back together.
Sincerely,
Someone smarter than this guy.
LOL. You’re making yourself look foolish and a ‘know it all’. Here is why you are wrong:
1. I’ve tried the cleaning method in the past and it just makes it worse, likely to make more buttons faulty as it will just wash away more of the conductive layer.
2. The fault is caused by the conductive layer on the rubber buttons wearing off, which you can test via a multimeter resistance test.
3. If it was a simple case of needing cleaning then putting back on a conductive layer on the rubber button of either graphite, silver ink or a piece of aluminium foil would not work, but it does in nearly 100% of cases!
Sincerely,
Someone who has experience and likes to share it to help others, but doesn’t boast about being smarter.
Nun Ya So being a dick is supposed to add validity to your argument? Ok.
Moron. The problem more often is that the conductive material on the buttons wears off and no amount of cleaning fixes it.